BLOG

AS my wife, Paula, and I pulled up to the fire station in Harlan, the unmistakable aroma of meat on the grill wafted near our car. Several men—volunteer firefighters—were standing around a barbecue grill, and I was tempted to yell out, “Hey, where’s the fire?” But I figured they’d heard that line all too many times before.

We’d driven from our home in Ames on a Saturday evening in early October to meet a busload of travelers on the “Our Iowa’s Western Treasures” tour of western Iowa we offered in 2014 in partnership with Country Travel Discoveries.

The firefighters and EMTs were putting on a grilled steak and chicken supper for these travelers. In fact, this was the seventh busload of our travelers they’d fed and welcomed to Harlan over the summer and fall.

We’d heard from previous groups that this was one of the highlights of the tour, and Paula and I wanted to see what it was all about. Besides, we felt a special kinship to this friendly county-seat town. Paula grew up there, and her dad had served as mayor many years ago. When the current city leaders found out our groups would be staying overnight in the area, they asked the fire department to treat the travelers to some old-fashioned small-town hospitality.

Country Travel DISCOVERIES President Steve Uelner, and Reiman Publications founder Roy Reiman, were recently featured in a business news spotlight interview by Jerry Bott for WISN News Radio Milwaukee.

Uelner and Reiman had worked together at the former World Wide Country Tours, the successful travel arm of Reiman Publications before it was bought and closed down by Reader's Digest. The two reunited on the radio to discuss the formula behind WWCT's-- and then CTD's -- unique "editorial" travel programs to off-the-beaten-path destinations and attractions most companies don't go.

They also discussed their newer collaborations, creating surprisingly successful travel experiences to unusual vacation destinations -- a partnership between Country Travel DISCOVERIES and Reiman's publication, Our Iowa Magazine. They desrcibed how the first attempt to create a single unique guided tour of rural eastern Iowa grew into six sold-out departures, followed by creation of a second tour of Western Iowa with seven sold-out departures, and now a planned third tour of the state. The model is also being replicated now with other publications such as Nebraska Life.

The program originally aired November 22 on WISN, part of the iHeartMedia network. The complete program may also be heard on the Country Travel DISCOVERIES website.

Country Travel DISCOVERIES annually sends holiday mailings to the past year's travelers that seek to highlight something special about our destinations and partners. Last year, for example, we wanted to share the beauty we find on our tours in Iowa, in stunning photo books and calendars by our friends at Our Iowa Magazine. The previous year, we took a nostalgic trip with a special collection of Norman Rockwell's art, as seen on our Norman Rockwell's New England and Autumn in New England tours.

But we’ve always said “the secret sauce” that makes a CTD tour unique is the people -- friendly fellow travelers and warm local hosts alike! So this year, we wanted to spotlight some of the wonderful hosts we meet at some favorite tour stops -- with a box of yummy treats proudly “Made in the U.S.A.” by the real people we’ve befriended at small farms, coops, and stores on our routes around the country--east, west, center—personally hand-packaged by our staff here in Wisconsin.

FROM THEIR FAMILIES...TO OURS!

From Oregon's Natural Wonders—Wonderful hazelnuts are the specialty of our friends at Oregon Orchard, the coop farmers of fertile Willamette Valley, where 99% of all U.S. hazelnuts are grown.

From Our Iowa...and Yours, Too!—Since 1903, Piper's Grocery and Homemade Candies had been a bustling small-town grocery, bakery and meeting place serving Iowa mining and farming communities. Today, it is especially famed for its candies, handmade in small batches with the same recipes the Piper family perfected at the end of World War II.

A PERSONAL TOUCH

And, since it's not the sort of thing you can just buy in bulk and have shipped out from somewhere, we figured we'd roll up our sleeves and hand-package, wrap and mail the gifts ourselves. How big a deal could it be? :-)

Well, let's just say that we had a pretty good year in 2014, so when the shipments of nuts, candies and teas from our friends started arriving at our offices on pallettes...we knew we had our work cut out for us, that's for sure!

It's a good problem to have of course, and everyone in the office really stepped up to participate: opening crates, constructing gift boxes, arranging the crinkle paper and goodies and letters, sealing and labeling, and more. And, we also had a great time, taking a break from our regular tasks, talking and joking, listening to carols. It was great way for us to kick off the holiday season.

We hope all of our past travelers, site visitors, hosts, partners and vendors enjoy a warm and safe holiday season with family and friends, and look forward to seeing you in the new year!

Country Travel DISCOVERIES's popular unpack-once desert escape, Palm Springs Winter Oasis (Feb 15-21), has been freshened up this year with new stops, including an exciting new program commemorating the role of the USO in lifting servicemen's (and the country's) spirits in times of war and peace. The USO Tribute Show at Palm Springs' Air Museum stars comedian Bill Johnson as Bob Hope (pictured right) and a talented cast recreating the iconic performances by the Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, and many more from the WWII, Korea and Vietnam eras.

This article, courtesy USOShow.com, recounts the beginnings and lasting legacy of the USO and their cherished "Camp Shows".

The majestic blue Danube—no other river in the world flows through as many countries. And now, I want to personally invite you to join my wife Lori and me on Magical Danube & Prague (Sep. 12-23, 2015), a very special land tour and river cruise chartered exclusively for CTD travelers. By land and by ship, we'll discover four capital cities in five countries, several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and wonderful scenic, cultural, rural and culinary experiences too numerous to count!

As Country Travel DISCOVERIES has been preparing for the return of Magical Danube & Prague President's Charter Cruise in 2018, we've been fielding many excited questions from travelers curious about river cruising. So, just why is river cruising one of the hottest trends in leisure travel today?

For years, the folks at Nebraska Life magazine have traveled the back roads of their state in search of its fascinating people, vibrant communities, festive food, dynamic history, and intriguing cultures. Now, the travel planners at Country Travel DISCOVERIES are honored to join up with Nebraska Life Editor Chris Amundson and his staff to present a very special Discovery of our 37th state -- all new for 2015!

Similar to our successful partnership with Our Iowa magazine (we visited Iowa 10 times in 2014), we are delighted to join forces with these knowledgable local experts at Nebraska magazine to craft a truly unique, editorially rich tour illuminating the wonders of a state that many travelers have never really explored.

Group Leaders will find they've been seeing Country Travel DISCOVERIES in a number of leading group travel publications and guides lately, including key annual planning guides such as the NTA Trip Planner 2014-2015 edition, just out now.

As the numbers of organizations reaching out to CTD for private or custom group tour arrangements has increased in 2014, so has our engagement with and outreach to Travel Club Leaders, Incentive Travel Groups, Faith-Based Organizations, Senior Activity Centers, Family Reunion Planners, and others.

Most recently, find us and other valuable group travel information in the following useful guides and magazines...